Light
by Katia11
Summary: Two pairs of goggles. One night beneath a sky filled with stars and unearthly light. One shot based on a fanart piece by Mara. Heavy J/C


I know that this isn't possible.

For Mara, you are an inspiration. I wish I could be half the writer you are. :)

Based on the art piece titled Castaway by Acaciathorn.

This idea was inspired by her. I promised this years and years ago. This is what I came up with. I'm sorry.

Go read Mara's stuff instead. Really. Do it. User name AntiqueDreams

Light

The little cursor blinks angrily on the blank white page. She'd been trying to write this thing for hours but was making no progress. She hated her brain. She hated herself for deciding to go for a Masters. She hated everything. It didn't help that the stupid AC was broken again. Despite the fact she is was in a tank top and shorts she felt like she was wearing three layers of clothes.

With a decisive push, she moves away from her computer. She needs to hit something. She pulls out her old Neutron dummy and hits it over, and over, and over again. Letting out screams of frustration and loud, very vulgar curses.

There's a knock on her door. She opens it to see Jimmy Neutron standing the hallway glaring at her.

Moving into a house with Sheen, Libby, and Jimmy was not something she had ever thought she would do. When Libby first suggested it, she had hated the idea. Being that close to Neutron gave her the shivers for more reasons than one. Once she'd realized how much money it would save her, she sang a different tune. Sheen and Libby shared the master bedroom on the first floor. Her room was a few doors down from them, and Jimmy got the one right beneath her. There were benefits to their situation. Free WiFi, movie nights, and the utter exhilaration of driving Jimmy mad when he was in the middle of an experiment. Which judging from the lab coat he is wearing, he had been.

"What do you want, Neutron?"

"Will you please shut up?"

"Was I making noise?" she teases innocently.

"Someone five blocks away could hear you!" he retorts. "I am trying to make a scientific breakthrough here! You know, changing the world and all that. I can't do it when you are screaming and cursing like a sailor."

She leans forward, her arms crossing over her chest. "Am I distracting the precious little genius from his precious contraptions?"

He scowls at her. "I said that a second ago."

Cindy scoffs. "I was blowing off some steam."

"And you couldn't go to the gym- because?"

"It's more fun pissing you off."

He throws up his hands in frustration. "I should write you up."

"For what exactly? Being a normal human?" she laughs.

"Again I cite the fact that you could have gone to the gym!" His chest is heaving, and she smiles at his frustration.

"What exactly is so important, Neutron?"

"It's none of your business," he bites back.

She has a brief second in which to enjoy her triumph, and then Jimmy's eyes fall on her open computer at her desk. Cindy curses her lack of foresight.

"Writer's block?" he chuckles.

"No," she argues quickly.

He smiles, and his eyes twinkle. "Shall I get you an idea sandwich?"

"How did you know about that?"

"We were neighbors for most of our lives, and these walls are quite thin," he teases.

"You have no idea. I have heard more than I ever wanted to, Neutron."

"I don't know what you are referring to."

"Oh, James," she moans loudly and relishes the stunned look that comes into Jimmy's eyes. His smug grin vanishes. "Some girl you got there. Who was she?"

"No one," he bites back. The red color on his face heightens.

"Wait, are you embarrassed?"

His shoulders straighten. "Are you?" She scoffs but does not answer his question. There's a slight pause as he considers his next words. "You know, I do have a few suggestions for writer's block."

"Like what?" she inquires.

"A walk, listening to some music, taking a break then returning to it."

"I've tried all that," she answers quickly. "So unless you have something original get the hell out."

"We have to think of something because I need to get some work done," Jimmy scrunches up his face in thought. He taps his chin, searching his big brain for something. His eyes light up in a way that sends a shiver down her spine. "Brain blast!" he rushes out of the doorway. Cindy stands utterly bewildered until he returns with two pairs of huge black goggles in his hands. "These might help."

"What are those? They are hideous!"

"Sit," he gestures to the bed.

"If you even suggest a quick tumble in the sheets with you, I'll pass," a slew of very indecent thoughts follow her words, and she's thankful that Jimmy is not a mind reader. But Jimmy does not answer; he merely sits down on the bed next to her.

"Will you at least tell me what this is?"

"An invention," he replies as he slips the goggles over her face.

"I do have eyes, Neutron," she lets sarcasm seep into her words.

"Trust me," he insists.

"If I die, I'm coming back to haunt you."

"Understood," he answers. "Think of somewhere that relaxes you."

An image floats into her mind. She tries to think of somewhere else. But she hears the mechanics of the goggles whirring and clicking. A moment later she finds herself standing on a very familiar island. There's a warm breeze in the trees and sand between her toes. She can taste the sea air. The night sky is twinkling with stars. Jimmy is standing beside her, grinning from ear to ear. It makes her chest feel tight and her head slightly fuzzy.

"Is this real?" Cindy asks breathlessly.

"As real as you can get without actually being there," he replies.

"This is-" she wants to insult him, but she can't. "Amazing."

"Thanks."

"How is this even possible?" she inquires.

"If I told you that, I'd have to kill you."

"You can't be serious," she snaps.

He shrugs. "I've already sold it to someone. I've sworn I won't tell anyone else how it works."

"Why don't we have goggles anymore?"

"This is a virtual reality. You see things as you imagine them," Jimmy comments as though he can read her mind.

"If I imagined you were blue, you would turn blue?"

"That is the principle, yes."

She had to fight off the urge to do just that. "Huh, interesting."

"What is interesting to me is that you chose here," he teases.

He's standing closer to her now. She hopes that he can't see the flush on her cheeks. This was a virtual reality, right? He couldn't see anything she didn't want him to. She still turns so he can't see her face. "It's the first place I thought of."

"It was a good choice," he agrees with a nod.

She walks toward the shoreline. The warm sea pulls on her feet. She giggles as the sand slides out from beneath her feet and between her toes. She can't help but smile. "You are going to be a goddamn millionaire."

"Yes, I thought so. I realized that if I could get people to a designated meeting spot without traveling, I could change the world. Business would be different, and personal relationships would be different too. It's better than Skype or Facetime," he softly says as he reaches out and rests his hand on her elbow. "Because as long as the other person is wearing the other set of goggles, you can touch each other."

The simple touch seems intimate on the deserted beach. Warmth radiates through Cindy's body. There's a bright flash of light above them as a falling star shoots across the sky. She pulls her arm away before Jimmy can comment.

"Write down this day in the history books ladies and gentlemen! I have finally made Cindy Vortex speechless."

"You make me speechless in lots of ways, Neutron," the words are out of her mouth before she can stop them. She'd meant them as an insult, but it did not come across that way.

"I do?" he waggles his eyebrows.

She lowers herself to the ground and rests back on the sand. She enjoys several long moments of silence. Here there was no angry blank screen to stare back at her. Just this place and the peace it offered. "This is what I needed. I've been so stressed lately," Cindy states.

"You have been particularly ornery," he agrees as he sits down in the sand next to her.

"This is where a normal person would ask why I am stressed, Neutron."

"Why are you stressed?"

"My thesis. I've been struggling with it for months without much luck."

"I'm sorry," he declares without hesitation.

"I was over-thinking it. I feel like I have to be something, you know? I push myself so hard that I can hardly think."

"I'm sure whatever you write will be fine," he confirms. His hand is so close to hers on the sand. If Cindy moved her hand a fraction of an inch, and they would be touching. A tickle creeps up her neck.

"Why haven't we been back here?" his question snaps her out of her thoughts.

"Never had the chance, I guess."

"We should have," he adds.

"Yeah," she agrees.

"I haven't had a girl to the house in months by the way," he proclaims out of the blue.

"What?" she laughs.

"It's been months since I've had a lady guest," he repeats.

"I don't need to know your sexual exploits, Neutron," she counters.

"Why did you say that then?" he turns his head, so he's looking at her. His eyes are glittering in the evening light.

"I was in a bad mood. I wanted to hit you where it hurt," Cindy admits.

"Oh," he lets disappointment slip into his tone.

"Should I have a different reason?"

"No," he huffs, and the force of the breath makes his lips shutter.

Unexpected heat unfurls in her stomach, then to her utter horror, it swoops even lower. The desire to reach over and touch him crashes over her like a tidal wave. She needs a change of topic and fast. So, she says the first thing that comes to mind. "I can't believe that Sheen and Libby are pregnant."

"I can't believe Carl is married," he acknowledges.

"Everything has changed," she sighs.

"Not everything. You and I are the same as we always were."

"We do get along a little better then we used to, Neutron."

"Maybe a little," he concedes. "You know, I'm certain that this is what the sky was like that first night."

"You remember the night sky?"

"I am a genius. I remember just about everything," Jimmy boasts.

"You had to make this about your ego," she rolls to face him. He's closer to her then he was a few moments ago, so she ends up practically on top of him. His blue eyes widen, and his throat bobs.

"Cindy," his voice is low and rough. She decides that one word has no right to sound so seductive. Suddenly, there's a new light in the sky. There are several falling stars streaking across the sky as bright as fire.

"What is that?" Cindy inquires as she sits up.

"You tell me. You're in control here," Jimmy also sits up, but he doesn't move away from her.

"It's your invention, Neutron. You should know how it works."

"It's never behaved like this. I have a hypothesis that it's reacting to whatever your emotions are. It seems to happen whenever you are close to me, so we have to- wait just a Neutronic minute."

"Whatever you're thinking, you're wrong."

He's grinning infuriatingly. "It's me. Your proximity to me."

She chokes. "What? It is not you, Neutron."

He raises a curious eyebrow. "Prove it."

"How?"

"Touch me," it's not a question.

She can do that; it was no big deal. But this reality was very tuned into what was happening in her head. She reaches out her hand but pauses before her skin meets his.

"Scared?" he teases.

She closes her hand around his forearm. It's warm and firm in her palm. For a brief moment, nothing happens. Then the night sky is filled with comets. They are everywhere that the eye can see. Her mouth drops open at the sight.

"You sure it's not me?" he questions.

"It's your stupid machine malfunctioning."

"Shall we test that theory?" he brings a finger to her chin, and slowly, he tips up her mouth towards his.

"What are you doing?" she hisses.

"Indulge the curiosity of a scientific man, Vortex."

He pulls her lips to his. His mouth is soft and warm. She grips his forearm even tighter, and something between them shifts. He drops his hand from her chin and wraps his arms around her waist. After a moment, she lets herself sink into his kiss. She enjoys the feel of his shirt beneath her fingers and the taste of him on her tongue. She's wild and free, brash and bright, like a lightning bolt streaking across a stormy sky.

Jimmy pulls away, his eyes wide with shock. "What was that?"

"It can't have been that long since someone kissed you, Neutron."

But he's looking up at the sky where a bright galaxy spins above them. The gorgeous purples and blues sparkling like jewels making the entire beach glow with bright light. It is impossible and damning.

"It was me then."

"Do you seriously want to have this conversation right this moment?" she huffs.

He brings a hand to her face and brushes a hair from her cheek. His touch is so tender and so gentle that it almost breaks her in two. "Say it, Vortex."

"It was you," she affirms.

"Thought so."

"Now will you please shut up?" she demands.

He does.

-x-


End file.
